A huge Christmas Eve explosion at an industrial gas plant in south-eastern Nigeria left several people charred beyond recognition, police said Friday, as fatality numbers ranged from single digit figures to scores. The blast at the Inter Corp Oil Limited gas plant, a subsidiary of Nigerian conglomerate Chicason Group, started around noon on Thursday, engulfing the industrial city of Nnewi in black clouds of billowing smoke.
The fire raged on for hours gutting surrounding buildings and cars. By the time fire-fighters doused the last flames, there were charred corpses on the ash-covered ground, according to local reports. Gruesome mobile phone photos taken at the scene showed blackened bodies lying face down in smouldering rubble.
"It was a huge inferno," police spokesman Ali Okechukwu told AFP. "We have found six bodies outside the perimeter, two more bodies were found in the adjoining building, bringing the total number of casualties to eight," Okechukwu said. "Six more persons were injured and referred to the hospital."